rain falling from a clear sky
by Esrafil
Summary: Tezuka and Ohtori, a relationship told in fifty sentences.


Title: none   
Author: esrafil  
Genre: Romance   
Rating: PG-13   
Disclaimer: The boys aren't mine.  
Note: Tezuka, Ohtori, and fifty instances in their relationship. For the 1sentence challenge community on livejournal, set alpha. Not in numerical order, since I rearranged them for the flow of the story that unfolded (the post below this one has the original order).

#21 - Life

They were aware of each other in a peripheral sense long before finally meeting properly, at a music store oddly enough; they ran into each other in the Classical music section, pleasantries taking a deeper turn as they began discussing favored pieces and composers, one topic segueing into the next, until the next thing Tezuka knew they were being ushered out of the store because business hours were definitely over and he had agreed to meet with Ohtori for coffee the next day.

#18 - Speed

Their relationship progressed rapidly over the course of a few months, though neither realized this unless he stopped to think about it; acquaintance turned into friendship turned into love before either knew what hit him.

#22 - Jealousy

If one thought Hyoutei's middle school was cutthroat, it was nothing in comparison to its high school; toward the end of Ohtori's first year he made the tennis team, and that Friday evening - as was per usual, for their weekly meeting - he showed up at Tezuka's doorstep sporting a black eye and a few scrapes, but it was Tezuka who looked as though he would be out for blood.

#28 - Sickness

It was rare for Tezuka to get sick, even rarer for anyone else to see him in such a condition -- Ohtori was sworn to secrecy regarding that unfortunate giggling fit that never happened.

#48 - Waves

There was no hesitation, no uncomfortable phase of wondering whether or not feelings would be scorned or returned, of agonizing over what course of action to take; instead realization hit them both at once, and they held onto one another lest they drown.

#33 - Fear

If anyone were to ask Tezuka how he first felt when starting his relationship with Ohtori, 'terrified' would come as readily to mind as 'elated'.

#32 - Confusion

To say he didn't understand would be an understatement; when Ohtori, haltingly, told Shishido that he had found someone special, that had been all well and good, but when he added that said someone was one Tezuka Kunimitsu, Shishido felt his brain break a little as he tried to process just how that happened.

#38 - Gift

Ohtori's head cradled in the crook of his neck, he felt warm breath against his skin as Ohtori whispered "Kunimitsu" for the first time.

#03 - Soft

"You've changed - the edges of your reality aren't as hard as they used to be," Fuji commented, to which Tezuka replied with a brief, stoic look; he continued, "I'd say you're all the stronger for it."

#09 - Telephone

Having overprotective best friends was both a blessing and a curse: a few months into their relationship, Tezuka received a call from Shishido, informing him that he better not hurt Ohtori, otherwise he would be damn sorry about it; about a week later, Ohtori received a call from Fuji, in which they had a long, philosophical discussion about cacti.

#49 - Hair

Tezuka had a habit of letting his hair get long and unruly enough that it often fell into his eyes; Ohtori had a habit of pushing it away when no one else was looking.

#40 - Innocence

In Ohtori's own estimation, he was not a dreamer, but he did like to believe that the world was not as bad as everyone else made it out to be and that in the end everything would be all right -- that was one of the qualities Tezuka loved about him.

#35 - Bonds

They never established any set grounds for their relationship -- it was a tacit understanding between them that, regardless of whatever else came along, the only thing that mattered was that they weather through together.

#15 - Touch

The brush of Tezuka's fingertips across the back of his hand spoke more to Ohtori than any verbal declaration ever could.

#34 - Lightning/Thunder

'Lightning never strikes the same place twice' - so the adage went, and Ohtori would never fall in with love anyone else like he had for Tezuka.

#12 - Sensual

Lips pressed against the back of his neck, arms wrapped around his waist, hands slid beneath his shirt, fingers splayed over smooth skin and hard muscle - instances such as these were stored in Ohtori's memory in acute flashes, and though he did not think of them often, they never dimmed.

#41 - Completion

Tezuka was part of Ohtori, in a way he could not quite articulate; certainly, he was in and of himself his own person, but it wasn't until Tezuka was with him that he felt truly whole.

#14 - Sex

There was always need and desire, heat, but never urgency, because as far as they were concerned they would always have all the time in the world.

#29 - Melody

Some days Ohtori would sit down at the piano and just start to play, impromptu composition though with a single focus in mind - the notes more often than not flowed in smooth harmony, one into the next, at times making it hard to distinguish where one ended and the other began; once, Tezuka asked Ohtori what he thought about, to which he received the simple reply, "You."

#20 - Freedom

Tezuka found one of the best aspects of his relationship with Ohtori was that he was free to be himself without having to live up to any expectation.

#16 - Weakness

Ohtori could pull, without a doubt, one of the best kicked puppy expressions Tezuka had ever seen; he used it infrequently enough that it worked every time.

#24 - Taste

One summer, they went to the beach together on vacation; Tezuka's clearest memory was the sea salt on Ohtori's lips.

#19 - Wind

Ohtori rarely, if ever, kept anything from Tezuka; being able to share his life so completely with another made him feel lighter, freer, stronger.

#36 - Market

Finding a place to live seemed more trouble than it was worth, money not so much an issue as finding somewhere Ohtori was willing to vest enough attachment in to call home; in the end, it was Tezuka who found the perfect place: a studio in a skyrise apartment complex, removed far enough kill most of the noise pollution while offering a spectacular view of the city at night -- this was the first place they lived together.

#26 - Forever

Held in Tezuka's arms, Ohtori was sure that this was forever; he was equally sure that it would not be long enough.

#46 - Sun

At one point, Ohtori theorized that Tezuka was the center of the universe - or his universe at least - and hey, he had the Tezuka Zone as supporting evidence.

#23 - Hands

While in one of his artistic phases, Ohtori developed a fixation with hands, both in terms of drawing them and using his to see how many different reactions he could get out of Tezuka; one of his favorites was finding the spot where Tezuka was ticklish, because even though Tezuka definitely did not squirm, he could did a fair imitation of the action.

#11 - Name

Her name was Ayumi, and for the first time Ohtori disliked someone before even having met her.

#47 - Moon

Oddly enough, between the two of them, Ohtori was the one who went through a brief period of withdrawal from their relationship, during the period after Tezuka's engagement was made official; he would wake from restless slumber, often when the moon had reached its zenith, and stare at the bars of pale light that filtered through the blinds - there was never any doubt in his mind that he loved Tezuka, but he couldn't help but wonder where he would fit in the years to come.

#42 - Clouds

They sat together on the rooftop of their apartment, Ohtori leaning back into Tezuka's arms and gazing toward the sky; Tezuka asked what he saw, and, after a long moment, when Ohtori relied simply with "clouds", Tezuka felt his heart break a little.

#45 - Hell

Ohtori didn't particularly believe he was going to hell, but as he sat in the back of the church watching Tezuka solidify his marriage vows he doubted it could be any worse than this.

#43 - Sky

Depending on how one viewed the painting, it could be one of two things: approaching dusk, deepened hues and dying rays; alternatively, approaching dawn, kissed in light with the promise of what was to come - Ohtori preferred the latter, but knew the former must hold true just as often.

#17 - Tears

"I thought I was going to lose you," Tezuka said, voice thick and hoarse, each word pried from the abject fear that created the sentiment; Ohtori wrapped his arms tighter around Tezuka in response, and couldn't help but wonder why he was the one crying.

#31 - Home

When returning from tournament Tezuka always spent time with his family first, but it never felt like going home until he was headed toward Ohtori's apartment.

#07 - Chocolate

On Valentine's, Tezuka always made sure to have flowers and candy delivered to Ayumi, as well as a more personal gift that he knew she would like, but he spent the day solely with Ohtori.

#50 - Supernova

Watching Tezuka play, especially against a particularly tough opponent, one could see a fierce sense of pride and determination shine through with each movement, at once overwhelming and inspiring; after bearing witness to nearly every match in Tezuka's career, Ohtori did not think that anyone or anything else could ever hope to compare in brilliance.

#10 - Ears

That Tezuka's children adored Ohtori was obvious - Kimiko, the youngest, even took to calling her stuffed bear after him, which amused Ohtori to no end; every so often when he visited he could hear her tearing about the house, yelling at Shiro, the family dog, to give 'Tori back, because he was not a chew toy.

#39 - Smile

Bright rays shone down on a clear autumn day, Ohtori walked a few feet ahead of him to keep up with the children; when he looked back over his shoulder to smile at Tezuka, the sunlight was nowhere near as stunning.

#25 - Devotion

From what Tezuka could tell, Ohtori basically put his life on hold for over a decade in order to manage Tezuka's career as a professional player, but when Tezuka said as much as they lay together in the gray hours of the morning, Ohtori had replied that to do otherwise would not be living.

#30 - Star

At different points in their lives, they each had pressing demands on their time - Tezuka's when he turned pro-athlete, Ohtori's when he re-entered the music world; the undisturbed moments they could steal together were made even more precious.

#08 - Happiness

Music was for Ohtori what tennis was for Tezuka, the outlet easiest for him to express his passion; so even though the level of pressure Ohtori put himself under was worrying at times, Tezuka knew it was worth it when he saw Ohtori onstage, and the smile he received was enough to merit his own in return.

#05 - Potatoes

Whenever Ohtori was going through a particularly trying time with the orchestra, Tezuka had long learned not to question his occasionally odd behavior, so one night when he came home to find an entire bag of potatoes peeled and sitting in a bowl on the kitchen counter, he simply transferred a few into a pot and set them to boil.

#02 - Kiss

No matter whether the first or the thousandth, Tezuka could always leave Ohtori breathless.

#04 - Pain

When Tezuka's wife confronted him about his relationship with Tezuka, Ohtori expected her to be angry, hurt, disgusted - any number of emotions that would have been perfectly justifiable given the circumstances; instead, she spoke carefully and neutrally, seeming to pick each word as though it might break if intoned the wrong way, "I am glad he has someone who can make him so happy."

#01 - Comfort

Tezuka turned the key in the lock, entering their apartment - he could hear the sound of running water, the clink of dishes, and Vivaldi, Ohtori humming along in perfect pitch, occasionally adding nonsense phrases that kept in rhythm with the melody, but had no place there; he stood in the doorway a moment, letting the familiar sounds envelop him before heading toward the kitchen to give Ohtori a kiss, just because.

#44 - Heaven

Laying in bed with Tezuka on cold winter mornings safely wrapped in his arms, watching the snowflakes drift slowly down to the earth, even breathing the only sound in the room, no obligations as of yet to think of or worry over - that was Ohtori's idea of perfection.

#37 - Technology

One day, Katsuya and Kimiko sat Choutarou down to teach him how to play video games; eight hours, two sore thumbs, and countless pixilated deaths later, and still the only person in the family he could win against was Kunimitsu.

#27 - Blood

The accident was abrupt, unexpected as they often are; Tezuka's mind refused to register that the blood covering his hands was not his own, but Ohtori's.

#13 - Death

His sole thought was that it was not supposed to end this way, but more than that, he had always maintained, on some level, the belief that it was not supposed to end, period.

#06 - Rain

Oishi found Tezuka in the park not too far from his house sitting on a bench, face wet; he sat beside him, trying to find the right words to say, knowing that there were none, and it was Tezuka who finally broke the silence: "It's raining," he said, and even though the afternoon was clear, Oishi was not about to point that out.


End file.
